11–12 CLIL | Business studies B1+

1 Work in pairs. Think of someone you
know who has a job. Look at the photos
and decide which one represents their
workplace best. What do you think
motivates them at work?
2 Write down four motivational ideas from
your discussion in Exercise 1. Quickly
read the article below and see if they are
mentioned in the text.

How do businesses motivate employees?

B
usiness leaders understand
nderstand
that part of making g a company
successful is ensuring
uring their
employees are motivated
otivated at work. A
motivated workforce will ill want to work hard
and therefore increase their
their productivity.
They will also take pride e in their work, thereby
improving quality. Moraleale will be high and so
staff will not want to take
ke unnecessary days
off or seek new employment.
yment. This means the
expense of regular recruitment
uitment is kept to a
minimum. But how do b businesses
usinesses motivate their
employees?
One of the most obvious us ways to motivate the
workforce is by offeringg a fair wage. Staff need to
feel that they are paid fairly,
airly, both in relation to their
colleagues and in comparison
parison to other companies
in the same industry. Some
ome bosses like to offer an
annual pay rise or bonus,
us, particularly when staff have
gone over and above what they are paid to do. Other
managers introduce a performance-related salary, where are five ‘levels of need’ that explain why people work. Staff
the staff get a bonus if they meet a target. This is similar to first want to meet their survival needs by earning a good
a tactic often used in the sales industry, where staff are paid wage and having a permanent contract. Safety needs such
extra, depending on how many items they sell. This is called as job security then become important, followed by social,
commission. Some businesses also try to incentivise their self-esteem and self-fulfillment needs. Moving staff up a
employees by offering staff discounts or other perks, such Maslow level is considered motivational.
as a company car or health insurance. Many business leaders and governments believe that
However, money isn’t everything and employers use many these motivational factors ensure a happy and productive
non-financial methods to motivate staff. Daily working life can workforce. What do you think?
get dull, so managers sometimes offer job rotation. Staff can
switch between tasks to reduce monotony. Bosses can also
delegate some of their decision-making to their employees,
to empower them and give them a sense of involvement
and control. Some forward-thinking businesses try to enrich
their staff’s daily life by giving them more interesting and
challenging tasks.
Managers are often trained in how to encourage their staff,
drawing inspiration from motivational theories. Two well-
used examples are the Taylorism and Maslow theories.
The Taylorism theory argues that employees do not enjoy
work and are only motivated by threats and pay. Managers
motivate staff by organising employees’ work and paying by
results. An example of this is piece-rate pay, where payment
is given per item produced. Maslow’s theory suggests there

Optimise B1+ Optimise B1+ Teacher’s Resource Centre © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2017.
This sheet may be photocopied and used within the class.
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 11–12 CLIL | Business studies B1+

3 Read the text again and find two examples
for each of the following categories:
• benefits of having a motivated workforce for
employers
• financial motivational techniques
• non-financial motivational techniques
DID YOU KNOW?
❍ Many innovative companies around the world have
been truly inspired when it comes to motivating
their staff. However, according to Fortune magazine,
it’s Google that is considered the best. They have
been voted ‘Best Company in the World to Work For’
over five times. To motivate and inspire their 50,000
staff worldwide, they have unusual meeting rooms;
free food and drink, nap rooms, where you can
sleep at work, giant slides and climbing walls (see
photo on page 1), and even a bowling alley in one
of their offices!

PROJECT

• motivational theories 6 Work in pairs. Choose one of the two

motivational theories mentioned in the
text and find out more about it. What are
the advantages and disadvantages of this
theory? What kind of businesses adopt
4 Find words in the text that have a similar this theory and why?
meaning to the words below.
7 In groups, imagine you are setting
1 find a different job up your own company. Decide which
motivational theory to follow and what
financial and non-financial incentives to
2 cost of finding new staff
offer your staff.

3 do more than expected

4 modern and innovative companies
5 pressure and fear
6 fulfil basic practical requirements for life
7 knowing your position at work is safe
8 a contented and hard-working group of
employees
5 Work in pairs and discuss the questions.
1 Think back to your answers from Exercises 1
and 2. Which of the motivational ideas from the
text and your discussion would work for you?
Which ones wouldn’t?
2 Discuss more ways that businesses can motivate
their employees.
8 In your group, prepare a presentation
to explain your choices to the rest of
the class.
VOCABULARY FOCUS
annual [adj]: something that happens once a year
bonus [n]: extra, additional money
colleague [n]: someone you work with
dull [adj]: boring
employee [n]: someone who is paid regularly to
work for a person or an organisation
empower [v]: to give strength and control to
someone
enrich [v]: to improve, deepen
incentivise [v]: to encourage with a reward for
success
monotony [n]: boredom
morale [n]: the amount of enthusiasm a person feels
for a situation at a particular time
motivate [v]: to inspire, encourage
perk [n]: additional advantage to having a salary
productivity [n]: output, the amount you produce
switch [v]: to change
target [n]: level, something to aim for
tactic [n]: method

Optimise B1+ Optimise B1+ Teacher’s Resource Centre © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2017.
This sheet may be photocopied and used within the class.
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